Hello from Malaysia!

Glad to be a part of TeaChat now! have been reading the forums for quite a while now and finally feel ready to join in the talk!

I am based in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia (which is near the capital of Kuala Lumpur)

I started my tea journey in January 2013. And the first tea i fell in love with was a Da Yu Ling during my vacation in Taiwan. Till this day it is still one of my favourite teas (though the one i purchased is not of the uber expensive grade. but to a few others and myself it is still a fantastic tea nonetheless!)

I am also currently exploring the world of Liu Bao. One reason being that it is a much more economical tea to purchase (comparing to Yancha and Taiwan High Mountain Teas) and drink on a regular basis ... and it provides a very nice break for me from my Yan Cha aaddiction....hehe

I'm not into Puer, i've tried various kinds and in the end they all don't agree with my body. Sad to say, as much as i've tried to understand and try to love puer, Puer doesn't love me at all... not old, not new, not ripe, not raw.

I know many shops and Teamasters in Malaysia. Go slow in Liu Bao and Puer there. My grandfather used to sell Liu Bao in Larut area in the 60s. Those are from Sheng base. I have tested the collectors and Teamaster Liu Bao and some them cost US5k/kg but they are fabricated although they claim it is from 50s. I know of a few syndicate playing with Liu Bao in Penang area. Unfortunately, It is quite late to find good stuff there and there is a lot of pit holes. I am sorry to paint this picture to welcome you but I hope you are aware and be very cautious. Anyway, welcome and Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Teaism wrote:Welcome and nice to hear someone from around this region.

I know many shops and Teamasters in Malaysia. Go slow in Liu Bao and Puer there. My grandfather used to sell Liu Bao in Larut area in the 60s. Those are from Sheng base. I have tested the collectors and Teamaster Liu Bao and some them cost US5k/kg but they are fabricated although they claim it is from 50s. I know of a few syndicate playing with Liu Bao in Penang area. Unfortunately, It is quite late to find good stuff there and there is a lot of pit holes. I am sorry to paint this picture to welcome you but I hope you are aware and be very cautious. Anyway, welcome and Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Cheers!

This is the first i'm hearing about the syndicates but yeah, i know i'm a bit late to the Liu Bao game.

One big reason i'm exploring Liu Bao now, is that i'd like to accumulate some new liu bao tea and stash it away for the future (like 20yrs+). While i know the really good old stuff is out there, i doubt i will be buying much of those, even if i do it will be to consume right away.

So my master plan for Liu Bao is to buy good grade new tea, and save a load of it for later. I've got some friends here who know Liu Bao pretty well and also some tea shops that i've been shopping with for a while now, and i think i've found a few that i will patron for years to come!

Yes the syndicate is from very reputable tea master group. They bought warehouse load of them and play up the sentiment. The whole country is Liu Bao craze now. If you have been through history, Liu Bao is inferior grade tea. In the 70s I helped my grandfather to man his shop and we sold them for a few cents per catty. The tin miners craved for it and it is a cheap tea even the noodle shop boil them by kettles and serve them for free.

The past Liu Bao is from Sheng base. A lot I have seen now are fabricated from shu base. Some of them blended some old and new stuff in. After brewing, line up every single leaves (yes, there is no shortcut in learning). If you see many different leaves and color, they are definitely fabricated. a good Liu Bao is dark maroon red in dry form and after brewing should be dark greenish leaves. The brew should be dark amber and translucent and the tea should be clean and sweet, without any medicinal or other unusual smell and flavor.

If you like to start young on this tea, get the cheap new Sheng base and keep them in airtight container. I have some 90s cheapo one which can beat those iconic names that I tried in Malaysia served by some Liu Bao king, so they claimed.

Teaism wrote:The past Liu Bao is from Sheng base. A lot I have seen now are fabricated from shu base. Some of them blended some old and new stuff in.

My understanding (from what I've always heard, as well as from Lin Ping Xiang's talk here: http://www.essenceoftea.com/blog/2014/0 ... ing-xiang/ (not sure if he's one of the people you're alluding to) is that it was traditionally fermented / ripe, and that only recently has some completely raw liu bao come on the market. From what I've always understood, liu bao is generally considered hei cha, and was even a model for formalizing the process for making ripe pu'er.

Teaism wrote:The past Liu Bao is from Sheng base. A lot I have seen now are fabricated from shu base. Some of them blended some old and new stuff in.

My understanding (from what I've always heard, as well as from Lin Ping Xiang's talk here: http://www.essenceoftea.com/blog/2014/0 ... ing-xiang/ (not sure if he's one of the people you're alluding to) is that it was traditionally fermented / ripe, and that only recently has some completely raw liu bao come on the market. From what I've always understood, liu bao is generally considered hei cha, and was even a model for formalizing the process for making ripe pu'er.

Liu Bao in the 50-70s are from Sheng base. They are processed without going the piling stage by bacteria or compost process. Before compressing into the huge cakes form, water are sprayed and then dried before going into dry storage to allow for aging like a Sheng. This is quite similar to the Chen Liang Cha process of the past. They are released in the market after many years when they aged naturally. So the dry tea leaves are dark maroon and brew in clear translucent amber color.

After 70s when the technology of shu came about, some of them are processed in traditional way and some are processed as shu tea. The shu type went through piling and fermentation by bacteria as compost. Lately, many of these tea went through the shu process and blended to give the impression of aging. The dry leaves are black and the brew are cloudy with wet storage taste. Blending are done to simulate any desired profile. In blended tea, different types of leaves and colors can be found in the same tea.

Both types are quite different in quality. The veteran teamaster will call Sheng as Xiang Cha (nice aroma tea) and the shu as Choau Cha (unpleasant odor tea due to the rotting fermentation process.)

But some vendors would try to promote the blended shu as antique Liu Bao and priced them astronomically. If you are in the Malaysia during the tin mining days, Liu Bao was drank by drums and barrels and after 60-100 years there still so many of them floating around in the market. Something really don't seems to add up.

I don't know much about tea history but I've always been under the (wrong?) impression that shou techniques were around before the 70s but only spread to puer then. Looks like shou techniques were really only invented after the 70s? Does that imply all the various heichas also had no fermentation process aside from 'natural' aging?

[I love where this thread is going, but it's probably not the right thread for the discussion on Liubao!]

I bought some liu bao in Kota Kinabalu that I'm pretty sure is sheng-based, but I'll take a closer look at the leaves now. My brother, who drinks shu pu erh frequently, immediately said it tasted much cleaner and not at all moldy like typical HK shu.

@jayinhk, i assume u are from HK? Coz i haven't been there yet, but am planning to go in the future (hopefully sooner than later). And would be cool to shop around for teawares with someone who already knows some merchants there

As for the liu bao, it tastes clean, but it is all small bits that do appear green after brewing. I'm not sure if it went through wo dui, but I enjoy drinking it and it is pleasant and very smooth, so no complaints!